Minyoung stifled a yawn as she took her seat at her desk, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

Can I please stop yawning?, the girl thought to herself grumpily, running her fingers through her hair. But yawning was inevitable, seeing as she had spent another night studying well into the wee hours of the morning. She had fallen asleep at around 4 am and woke up at 6:45 in the morning, clocking in less than three hours of sleep. With a quick glance at her watch, she sighed when she noted that she had a nine-hour school day ahead.

In her current restless state, Minyoung was definitely going to have a rough Friday.

But thank goodness for caffeine, the girl thought as she yawned into her sleeve. Her mother, who was a dentist, didn’t approve of her constant consumption of coffee. Mrs. Jung always reminded her that coffee stained teeth and that it was not a pretty sight. Nevertheless her mother’s reminders didn’t stop her from drinking her beloved drink. It helped her stay awake and she was proud to say that she could make a pretty mean glass of iced coffee (thanks to her brothers).

The sound of a chair being dragged across the floor to her right drew Minyoung’s attention out of her thoughts and she turned to Iseul. The girl had dragged her chair over to the side of Minyoung’s desk and plopped down on the seat with a concerned look.

“Minyoung…” Iseul said slowly as if she was about to bring up a sensitive subject. “Can I ask something?”

“Sure?” Minyoung had inkling as to what her friend’s question was going to be – she could see it in the way Iseul was intently looking at her.

“…Did you sleep last night?”

Ah, there it is. Minyoung avoided her friend’s intense stare, briefly pondering whether to lie or tell the truth. But then again, lying was no use: Iseul always found out the truth one way or another because of how perceptive she was. “Um…a bit.” “

Okay…” Iseul’s lips formed a tight line at the answer. “How many hours?”

“Um…” Minyoung smiled weakly. “Around three?”

There was silence between the two of them and Minyoung prepared herself for an incoming lecture. To her surprise, Iseul stretched out her arms, grabbing her friend’s cheeks, and started to pull on them.

“Agh! Wee Iseul!” Minyoung yelled out, the commotion between the two girls attracting the attention of a few classmates who were entering the classroom.

“Honestly, this girl! Are you nuts? Are you?” Iseul grumbled as she stretched her friend’s cheeks. “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Huh?”

“I’m sowwy – ow!”

“Only three hours of sleep? How many times have I told you to get some rest?”

“Ow! I know, I kno –“ Iseul immediately let go and Minyoung pouted while she rubbed her sore cheeks.

“There you go again. You say that you know but you keep doing it anyways. You’re wearing yourself out – you work day and night and barely get any sleep. Your habits are going to have a negative effect on you in the long-run.”

Minyoung hung her head. Ever since they entered high school, the average amount of hours she slept dropped down drastically in order to study. While she received top grades because she diligently reviewed for hours, she was fatigued more than usual due to restless nights. But Minyoung believed that she had to make sacrifices and push herself to achieve her goal of getting into her dream university’s pre-medicine program. If she had to exchange rest for high grades, then she accepted it. Thus the ends justified her means: attaining her goal warranted sacrificing sleep for studying.

This stance only concerned Iseul, who constantly checked up on her friend’s health and habits. Iseul made it a note to frequently remind the girl to get some rest but was almost always ignored as Minyoung (stubbornly) forged ahead with her current lifestyle.

“I know I’m being naggy and nosy and everything but honestly,” Iseul gave a sad smile, which made Minyoung feel a pang of guilt. “I’m just worried about you.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll try –” Minyoung mumbled and Iseul clucked at her, pulling on her friend’s cheeks once again.

"Saying ‘I’ll try’ isn’t going to work,” Iseul said sternly. “Listen, we’re going to the nurse’s office once you don’t start feeling good. Do you understand?”

Minyoung gave a nod in agreement and Iseul ruffled her hair. Iseul’s suggestion was easier said than done. Spending sleepless nights was like a habit; something that she just naturally found herself doing despite constantly getting reminders to change it for the better.

But everyone knew that old habits died hard.  

Minyoung felt her eyelids droop for the nth time that morning as she struggled to take down notes in Miss Lee’s history lecture. While she was used to sitting in lectures after sleepless nights, she was struggling more than usual to stay awake that day. She tried her usual strategies to stay alert and focused in class – pinching her arm, doodling on the margins of her notebook, and just sitting up straighter and forcing herself to listen to Miss Lee. However, they weren’t as effective this time and Minyoung could almost feel herself about to doze off in class.

She straightened up in her seat once more as Miss Lee went over the questions for their homework, hoping that fixing her posture will somehow keep her awake. At the same time, she started to make little notes on the handout with the teacher’s instructions to force herself to focus.

“Remember, I don’t want you to rewrite what’s in the textbook. A lot of you guys did that last time.” Miss Lee instructed and Minyoung wrote down “Don’t copy the book” in tiny writing on the paper. “I want you to understand and write it in your own way. I know history is dry but simply copying the book isn’t going to help you.”

Miss Lee set down the chalk and the school bell rang, indicating the start of the long-awaited lunch period. “Oh, perfect timing. Class dismissed.”

Students in 3-1 began to put their books away for their lunchboxes or head down to the cafeteria quickly to beat the long line. Minyoung took out her lunchbox from the depths of her backpack as Iseul turned the closest chair around so they would face one another as they ate lunch.

The two girls spent the first twenty minutes of their lunch period just eating and talking about various topics. Iseul was talking about her tutoring partner, first year Lee Seokmin, when she noticed that Minyoung was starting to nod off with her chopsticks in her hands and her eyes close to drooping shut.

Iseul gently nudged Minyoung, who jolted out of her daze and looked up at her friend in surprise.

“Nap time.” Iseul said as she started to put away her lunch. Minyoung managed a nod, following her friend’s actions in a somewhat slower, sleepier manner. Once their lunches were safely stowed into their backpacks, Iseul led the descent down the stairs from the third floor to the main floor of the building. Once they arrived to their destination, Iseul knocked on the door of the nurse’s office to signal their presence.

“Mrs. Choi, we’re coming in.” Iseul slid open the door to the room, her brows rising at the sight her eyes registered. “Seokmin?”

Seated by the nurse’s table getting patched up by Mrs. Choi was Seokmin, who gave a peace sign upon seeing his tutor. Standing by his right was –

“Seungcheol?” Minyoung asked, blinking to fight the drowsiness in her eyes and also in surprise upon seeing him. The said boy smiled at Minyoung cheerfully in greeting.

“What happened?” Iseul asked, watching Mrs. Choi place a band-aid on Seokmin’s elbow.

“He tripped on a tree root while we were playing tag outside,” Seungcheol explained and Seokmin nodded.

“I was trying to run away from Jihoon-hyung and I didn’t see the root, so…” Seokmin gave a lively laugh, which turned into a yelp as Mrs. Choi applied anti-bacterial ointment on another one of his scratches.

“Why are you guys here?” Seungcheol asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

“I need to take a nap,” Minyoung gave a tiny smile, involuntarily rubbing her drowsy eyes as to make her point.

“The cot’s right behind Seungcheol,” Mrs. Choi responded, briefly looking up with a warm smile. “You can use that one, Minyoung.”

“Thanks.” Minyoung murmured, somewhat sleepily as she made her way to the cot hidden behind a curtain with Iseul trailing after her. Once Minyoung took off her shoes and laid down on the cot, her eyelids immediately closed and she was out like a light.

–

Seungcheol couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned as he watched Minyoung head to the cot hidden behind the curtain. With just one glance, he could tell that the girl was exhausted and in desperate need of rest. He perked up when he saw Iseul emerge from behind the curtains, drawing them close so that Minyoung’s nap wouldn’t be interrupted. Mrs. Choi looked up just as she finished patching up Seokmin’s scrapes.

“Is she asleep already?” The school nurse asked.

“Yeah, she fell asleep right when she got on the cot.”

Seungcheol’s brows furrowed. “Is she okay?”

Iseul gave a soft smile. “She’s fine but she’s just tired since she doesn’t sleep much.”

“And that’s not good for someone who’s still young,” Mrs. Choi muttered crossly, shaking her head. “You’re all good now, Seokmin. You guys can go.”

“Oh, but I –“ Iseul started but Mrs. Choi shushed her.

“Don’t worry, Iseul. I’ll wake her up before class starts. You guys should go for your lunch.”

Before any of them could argue, Mrs. Choi ushered the three students out of the nurse’s office. Seungcheol quietly shut the door behind them after emerging into the empty hallway.

“Iseul, can I ask something?” The boy spoke up right before Iseul was about to head to the direction of the stairs.

“What’s up?”

“Well…” Seungcheol hesitated. He didn’t know if he should pry into Minyoung’s business but he couldn’t help but feel concerned after seeing how tired she looked. “Does Minyoung have…insomnia? Or something like that?”

Iseul stared at him. “What made you think that?”

“Well, you mentioned that she doesn’t sleep much, so…”

The girl shook her head. “Oh! No…it’s just that she doesn’t sleep because she’s always studying.”

Ah, that explains things, Seungcheol thought. From what he could tell about his tutor, she was a studious person. The boy noticed it in the way she helped him during their tutoring sessions; she gave clear and detailed explanations and it was evident that she studied hard in order to fully understand the material they were learning in school. Not to mention, Minyoung reaped the results that demonstrated and recognized her efforts; her name had always been part of the top 5 ranking of each year since their first year in school.

Iseul sighed before continuing. “Minyoung really wants to get into her dream school and be a doctor so she’s always studying. I support her dream, you know? But I’m just worried about how she’s doing it.”

“What do you mean?” Seungcheol asked.

“Always studying with only three hours of sleep, that kind of thing,” Iseul gave another sigh, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her skirt. “I always tell her to try to take a break at least but she always says that she knows but she doesn’t do it. Sheesh.”

Seungcheol nodded slowly, gaining a deeper understanding of the situation. “I see…”

Iseul blinked, noticing the boy’s serious expression and immediately felt bad for worrying her best friend’s tutoring partner. “I think she’ll be fine after a nap though! She just needs to recharge for a bit.”  

“Oh, that’s good,” Seungcheol forced a smile.

“Thanks, Iseul.” The three students separated ways; Iseul heading back to class 3-1 and Seungcheol and Seokmin returning outside where the rest of their friends were spending their lunch period. Seokmin looked at Seungcheol curiously while they walked, a bright smile appearing on his face.

“Worried?” The first year asked.

“Well, yeah because who else am I gonna mooch off notes from?” Seungcheol replied jokingly and Seokmin made an exaggerated face of disbelief.

Despite the lie, Seungcheol was genuinely concerned about Minyoung. However, he didn’t like sticking his nose into other people’s business and they weren’t technically friends to warrant his concern. Nevertheless, he couldn’t shrug off the uneasiness he felt after he saw Minyoung’s exhausted state and Iseul’s explanation.

His distracted thoughts continued throughout the rest of the lunch period and well into the first class after lunch, which was history. The boy tried to focus, absentmindedly jotting down small notes in his notebook. However his thoughts kept flitting to his tutor, who was probably sitting in Ms. Hwang’s English class at that moment.

How does she work like that? Seungcheol thought, chewing on his lower lip as he wrote down the points Miss Lee was writing on the blackboard. Rest was important, especially since they were still young. He couldn’t imagine functioning every day with long hours and barely any moment of rest. Yet she diligently fulfilled her daily tasks, hiding the exhaustion.

She must really want to achieve her dream, huh? Seungcheol couldn’t help but be somewhat impressed that she was determined to make her dream come true, even if she had to endure the weariness. But Iseul was right, the way she was doing it was concerning.

Over Miss Lee’s history lecture, Seungcheol smiled as an idea came into his mind.  

There was five minutes left until the end of the last break of the day and Seungcheol hurried up the stairs to the third floor with his purchases from the school cafeteria. His left hand held a carton of strawberry milk and custard-filled bread. Once he reached the third floor, he immediately approached a group of girls standing out in the hallway by class 3-1’s doors, chatting amongst themselves.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Seungcheol said with a smile, catching the girls off-guard. “But is Minyoung in class?”
The girls stared at him for a good moment before one of them blurted out an answer. “She’s inside!”

“Okay, thanks!” Seungcheol smiled again in gratitude, sliding the door with his free right hand.

The boy set foot inside class 3-1, looking around for Minyoung. He spotted the said girl at her desk by the window, surrounded by Iseul and two other classmates with their biology books. They’re probably studying for the bio test, he smiled to himself. Before Seungcheol could walk over to the girl’s desk, one of the students noticed his presence and called out immediately.

“Oh? Choi Seungcheol?” Jang Wonho, who was the captain of the boys’ soccer team, spoke up from his seat in the middle of the room. “What are you doing here?”

At the mention of the name of the basketball team’s captain, students looked up, some gasping in surprise. Seungcheol flashed a smile to the boy’s direction as he headed to Minyoung’s desk. “Just dropping off a special delivery.”

Minyoung looked up at him curiously when he neared, blinking. “What are you doing here?”

A bright grin appeared on Seungcheol’s face as he set down the carton of strawberry milk and custard-filled bread on Minyoung’s desk and Minyoung looked at the items before looking up at him again. “What –“

“You’re writing the bio test soon, right?” Seungcheol asked nonchalantly. “It’s just to give you extra energy.”

Minyoung blinked several times, caught off guard at the boy’s thoughtfulness. “Oh…thank you…that’s so nice of you.”

Seungcheol couldn’t help but smile as he watched the girl pierce the carton with the straw and take a sip. She looked a bit better after her lunchtime nap at the nurse’s office but he could tell that she was still fatigued.

“Whoa, what’s this?” Wonho sauntered over curiously, as did several other students in class 3-1. “Are you two an item?”

“No, we’re not.” Minyoung shook her head before setting down her drink on her desk. “We’re just schoolmates.”

Joo Dohee and Shin Yoojung, two girls who were known to be part of the school’s newspaper committee, raised their brows skeptically. “Riiight.”

“Schoolmates that buy each other food?” Iseul chimed in, pretending to think, and making Minyoung look at her with a frown.

“Ugh, you guys!” Minyoung gave Seungcheol a look. “We’re just schoolmates, right?”

Seungcheol couldn’t help but seize the chance to be mischievous, a cheeky grin appearing on his face as he took the girl’s hand and intertwined their fingers together. “I don’t know…I thought we had something special?”

The students gathered around let out “ooh"s in unison and Minyoung rolled her eyes, pulling on his cheek with her free hand.

“Go back to your class.” The girl huffed, glaring at him, and Seungcheol laughed as he unlinked their fingers.

Wonho let out a whistle. “Wow, Jung Minyoung and Choi Seungcheol, huh? That’s an interesting combination.”

Minyoung whirled around in her seat, narrowing her eyes at the students still gathered behind her.

“You know, if you guys have time to be nosy, then you have time to get ready for the biology test.”

“Oh, crap.” The assembly immediately dispersed to return to their seats upon recalling that they had a biology test in a few minutes.

Seungcheol chuckled as he gave Minyoung a wave.

“Good luck with the test!” he beamed, grinning brightly and she waved back at him with a noticeably happier smile of her own.

Seungcheol closed class 3-1’s door quietly behind him, joining the rest of the third years who were returning to their classrooms before the end of their break. He took his seat, fishing out his notebook from his backpack while humming a cheerful tune to himself.

Jisoo stared at him curiously. “Someone’s happy.”

“What’s up?” Jeonghan asked. “You ran off for break really quickly.”

Seungcheol gave his friends an innocent smile. “Nothing.”

Jisoo and Jeonghan exchanged looks, not quite buying their friend’s answer but decided not to pry any further. However, both boys noticed the gentle smile on Seungcheol’s face as he propped his elbow on his desk and rested his chin on his palm.  

Hi everybody! Apologies for being MIA, I had to take a spring class and I underestimated how fast-paced and intensive it was ;_; I'm off for summer break now so I'll try to update more often! Thanks for reading and see you next time!